“God Exists” ???????

“God Exists” REALISM VS ANTI-REALISM “I exist” “prime numbers exist” “the off side rule exists” “God exists” Clearly, when we talk about existence, we don’t always imply the same thing.

“God Exists” – Realist View Spacio-Temporal existence like you or me? A Posteriori means would be a more valid way of proving God’s existence. Realism would demand this kind of view Cannot be verified – therefore meaningless to talk about God existing?

“God Exists” Anti Realist View This can only ever be true or false for you If it corresponds to a particular form of life Has meaning & value for a religious believer God has no objective reality Faith claim (“blik”)

Vardy’s suggestion Perhaps this is what Anselm was driving at all along? Once you have understood what God means / is all about then God exists for you – a conscious decision to live a life in faith. Ties in nicely with the fact the original Ontological argument was a prayer.

Hmmmm….. Is this good enough though? Prayer has no purpose other than to bring about a change in the self (closer to meditation than conversation) God is not creator of universe nor an active part of it. If we want to talk about whether “God exists” is true, do we need to demand that it is an objective truth?